


Dragon Slayer

by Palefire73



Series: Loki Origins [36]
Category: Frigga - Fandom, Fulla - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom, Thor - Fandom, Young Loki - Fandom, Young Thor - Fandom, odin - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Thor saves the day in a round about way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 15:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14751555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Thor is busy telling Odin just how he would vanquish mighty foes, unaware that Loki is listening and drawing the scenes in crayon. However, when Loki decides to animate his drawings with Seidr, he gets a bit of a shock.





	Dragon Slayer

Little children – and older ones for that matter – are often listening when perhaps we think they are not. Born as a clean slate, an empty biological computer, they are like little sponges: soaking up every iota of information that comes their way. Be it visual, tactile or aural, everything goes in and starts to help them to understand the world they live in. More importantly, it helps them to understand where they fit into the huge multidimensional thing we call existence.

 

Being no exception, Loki was an inquisitive child and enjoyed a lot of his lessons as well as the interaction with his friends and family, all of which combined in his young mind to form the world in which he lived. Whether he was learning how to create new colours by mixing paint together – which he had found was far more fun when he used his hands than when he was told to use a brush – or listening raptly as Odin told the Princes of yet another adventure from his youth, Loki was always listening and always learning, even when no one thought he was.

 

It was a quiet afternoon in the nursery one day; the weather was sultry and most people in the Palace of Asgard were finding themselves growing sleepy in the relatively warm conditions. The Royal Family had announced a rare afternoon off from all things official so that their staff could gain some sort of reprieve from the heat and the Princes had retired to the nursery with their parents where the breeze coming in from the large windows was just enough to alleviate the discomfort that was brought by the blazing sun outside. Tyr had decided to have a nap and Frigga was starting to nod over her embroidery, but Thor still had plenty of energy and was regaling his father with tales of his training. Loki was sitting at a small table with his paper and crayons and although he did not join in the conversation, he was drawing some of the scenes Thor described. Art was one of his favourite subjects and he was a fairly proficient painter, as well as being able to use all manner of other media, so the colourful scene coming to life on the parchment in front of him was fairly accurate to what his brother was saying. In the typical artistic style of a boy who was almost five years old, a picture of a blonde warrior in a blue tunic and with a flowing red cloak emerged and it was clear that he was in the middle of a battle.

 

The sound of the door caused Loki to pause in his drawing efforts but Thor hardly noticed, so engrossed was he in his excited relation. Fulla breezed in holding a tray which bore a large pitcher and a few glasses, and Frigga’s eyes managed to open long enough to see that it was sparkling lemon with large chunks of the finest Asgardian Clearwater ice floating in it. She put the neglected embroidery to one side and went over to the table to help pour it out and smiled as Loki threw down his crayon and came over to join in. He loved to pinch a slice of the juicy Asgardian Lemon from the pitcher and suck on it as drinks were poured and today was no exception. She lowered the pitcher to allow him to take some before returning to decant the sparkling citrus drink into the glasses for everyone.

 

“I thought it would be very welcome on a day like this.” Said Fulla, carrying a glass over to Odin, who took it gratefully and nodded his thanks.

“Welcome indeed,” he replied, smiling broadly before draining the glass in one go. Fulla, who had expected this of him, took it back to fill again. Odin was well known for his hearty appetites, and a refreshing drink on a warm afternoon like this was just what he enjoyed.

“Oh, this is wonderful, Fulla.” Said Thor, before he drained his own glass and held it out for more. It seemed the young Prince would be following in his father’s footsteps.

“May I have more fruit in mine?” Asked Loki, “I like the lemon bits.”

“Of course,” replied Frigga, “It is full of vitamins that are good for your health as well as tasting nice!”

“Vitamins?” Loki was not sure what the word meant, but his keen mind meant he wanted to know more and so Frigga spent the next ten minutes or so explaining. Everyone was quiet and listened while they enjoyed their drinks as a nice reprieve from the soporific effects of the temperature.

 

However, it was not long before Thor started to go on about his warrior training again and Loki took his drink over to the table where he started to draw again. Frigga took up her embroidery, of which there was little chance of any progress as she started to drift off again and Odin patiently listened to Thor’s story.

 

“I have been learning all about how you have to have the right weapons for the right job. Some enemies are easily vanquished with a basic sword…” Thor lunged forward as he felled an imaginary foe with an imaginary sword, “yet some may require an axe, or a Morningstar! The Weaponsmaster says I am not ready for such large weapons yet, but I have lifted them and I am strong enough to do so! It will not be long before I start to master them.” He took on a tall stance and pointed around the room at the make-believe creatures he was seeing in his mind’s eye, and on Loki’s parchment, his warrior was now being encircled by gigantic Green Hairy Frogs and Purple Bilgesnipe, along with Black Wolves and Mountain Lions. He waggled his fingers over the crude drawings and giggled as they began to move around, creeping forwards and then dodging the wicked blade the Warrior was brandishing. As he made the creatures move around with the one hand, he continued to draw others his brother was describing in an almost absent-minded manner, not really paying too much attention. It was perhaps this that caused him to be rather shocked as a particularly nasty looking Asgardian Rock Serpent lumbered across the page and snapped up one of the Black Wolves. Aghast at the terrible creature he had managed to recreate without really thinking about it, he leapt back out of his chair, scattering his crayons everywhere and silence fell in the nursery as they dropped to the floor and rolled across it. Moments later, the picture, which had flown off the table, landed face down at his feet.

 

“Loki?” The young Prince flinched as Odin’s large hand settled gently on his shoulder, “What troubles you my son?”

“Erm… n… nothing!” Mumbled Loki, stooping to pick up some of the crayons.

“Are you sure?” Odin’s voice held an element of puzzlement and Loki turned around to look up into that clear blue eye. Loki was aware that Odin did not know the extent of his Seidr abilities and there was no way he could tell him the truth about his moving pictures, but the All Father was concerned about him it seemed, so he smiled quickly. “I thought a large spider had landed on the table and it made me jump!” He said and then turned around to pick up the rest of his crayons to put them back neatly on the table. He hoped his father would not see the lie he felt was written all over his face, but a quick glance over at his mother confirmed that she was definitely hearing it. He swallowed nervously and laughed “Thor, how would you defeat an Asgardian Rock Serpent?” before picking up his picture and putting it back on the table as he sat down. Hopefully his older brother would have no problem in killing one of these dreadful things if it should ever chance to invade Asgard!

 

The tension in the room dissipated as Odin went back to his seat and Thor snorted out, “An Asgardian Rock Serpent? Well, that is one of the mightiest of foes, especially if ridden by a Rock Dweller! Yet I would have no problem in vanquishing one should it ever attack. We have learned much in weapons training and this creature has its own weaknesses, even if they are well defended. Firstly, I would require a quiver of the finest Alfheimian arrows…” The blonde haired Prince carried on with a fairly graphic account of how he would bring down one of these creatures and he chose the largest species as an example of course. A little like a cross between a Midgardian snake and a Dragon from Krynn, Asgardian Rock Serpents had many different types, ranging from fairly small creatures that could easily sit underneath a dining table, right up to giant species which lived high up in the snowy peaks of Asgard Mountain and, as Thor described the wicked talons and the flickering tongue sharp as a blade, Loki quailed in his chair, watching the Serpent in his drawing rampaging around, attacking the other creatures he had depicted. As soon as it had seen the last one off, it gathered its powerful hind legs and spread its huge wings before leaping into the air and flying off into the distance before disappearing from his picture altogether.

 

“… would help me of course, would you not, brother?”

 

The tail end of the question Thor had posed broke Loki’s frightened hypnosis and he blinked a few times, “I am sorry Thor, I did not hear your question.” he said meekly, glancing back at his picture to make sure the terrible thing had definitely gone.

“You would stand by my side in such a battle, would you not, Loki? You are growing up fast and will soon be a man… a Prince who will defend Asgard just as I will!”

“I think we are all growing a little sleepy in this heat, Thor,” interrupted Frigga, who rose from her chair and came over to Loki to look at his picture. She quickly hid her frown and scooped Loki up out of his chair before waving a hand over the horrible scene of dead creatures on the paper, turning it instead into a nice view of Asgard Palace. “Come along, Loki, it is time for an afternoon nap and you can sleep next to me, for I am tired, too.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

About a week later, Odin had ridden out to a distant village with Tyr and Thor for the day and they were late in coming back to the Palace. They had sent a fast rider on ahead to alert the Seneschal to their approach and he had some supper prepared for them in the kitchens because it was so late. Frigga had put Loki to bed and had decided to sleep in the small room that was in the nursery for an adult to use whilst in charge of the young Princes, so neither of them was awake when Odin and his sons got back. Loki had asked her to sit with him while he fell asleep and she had readily complied; the little boy had been having the odd bad dream over the last few days and she was quite convinced they had been sparked by the tall tales of killing scary creatures Thor had been telling the other day. That and the rather worrying picture Loki had drawn while listening to him. She had discussed the topics of conversation held in front of Loki with Odin later that same day and they had agreed that they should be tempered somewhat in order to avoid exposing him to things that were a little too extreme for him to handle. Being of a different race, Loki seemed to be growing up a little slower than Thor; although he was nearly five years old in terms of how long he had been on Asgard, Loki’s physical age seemed to be a little younger and they also had to remember that he was rather more sensitive than Thor, who seemed to be a natural warrior. Odin was not altogether happy about having to consider Loki’s sensitivity, coming from a long line of warriors as he did, but Frigga’s gentle persuasion won him over – for the time being.

 

The Queen of Asgard was just drifting off into her own dreams when a sudden piercing wail arose from out in the sleeping area of the nursery. She flung back her covers and rose from her bed to go to see what the matter was. In the dim Asgardian moonlight coming in through the large windows, she could see that Loki was huddled up on his bed, leaning against his pillows with his knees drawn up to his chest. He was hugging them and staring across the room to the large wardrobe that held his clothes. To Frigga’s dismay, a tear escaped his eye and trickled down his cheek as moans of fear escaped him. She arrived at the side of his bed and his fearful eyes looked up to her before snapping back in the direction of the wardrobe, “Móðir!” he hissed, “Quickly, get in bed beside me! It will hear you! You need to be still!”

 

Frigga frowned and looked over at the wardrobe, but another frightened squeak from Loki caused her to lift the blanket and get in beside him, whereupon he leaned against her.

 

He was trembling!

 

“Wha…”

“Shh!” A small hand gripped her arm, “It will hear you!”

 

Frigga decided on another tactic. Reaching out with her mind, she quickly found Loki’s aura and directed her thoughts towards him.

 

_“What is there, Loki?”_

After a small pause, in which Loki stiffened and then relaxed as he realised she was speaking to him with her mind and that the dreadful creature would not hear her, he replied.

“ _It is a Rock Serpent_!” He sent back, “ _I think it is the one that escaped from my picture_.”

Frigga sighed; the imagination of her son was vast, it seemed. There was nothing in the wardrobe, but that moment of the night between being awake and properly asleep was a moment of pure fantasy in the minds of lots of children – and adults – and it seemed Loki was convinced that the creature he had created whilst listening to Thor’s stories was now in his wardrobe.

“ _I am quite sure it was just the sound of the wood groaning as it settled, Loki. Your Rock Serpent was still just markings of crayon on the paper, even if you managed to make them move with your Seidr. It was not real_.”

“ _Then where did it go when it flew away?_ ” Loki’s young mind was working over time at this late hour and Frigga decided that the only answer was to get him off to sleep and influence his dreams for the better. Very gently, alongside words of love and encouragement, she influenced his feelings a little, making him feel sleepy. As his head grew heavy against her and his breathing deepened into cute little snores, she pulled his blanket up and slid carefully off his bed to return to her own.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“You will have to be very quiet Thor. I would much rather you went to bed in your new suite…” Odin pursed his lips as he indicated a large door further down the corridor. It was exceptionally late and he was more than ready for his bed after the long day they had spent travelling.

“Fadir, I want to be with Loki. I have missed him today and it will be a nice surprise for him to wake up next to me!” Thor pushed down on the handle of the door to the nursery and Odin raised a finger. “I promise I will be quiet.” he whispered and slipped inside the nursery before closing the door gently behind him.

 

However, he could not prevent the click of the lock which, although not at all noisy, was a clear sound in the dead of night, which left the mechanism in the door and travelled across the nursery and straight into the subconscious hearing of Loki as he slept, where it distorted itself into something like the snap of jaws.

 

 _Huge jaws with hundreds of jagged teeth and edged with scaly skinned lips_! Loki’s mind took hold of that sound and went haywire as it dealt with images of creeping creatures, long, leathery tails tipped with spikes and huge wings lifting terrifying serpents into the air! His eyes opened and it was not the nursery ceiling he saw in his sleep fogged mind, it was a dark sky with an Asgardian Rock Serpent swooping towards him! He shook his head as he scrambled back up into his pillows and the nightmare phantom whooshed past him where it flew straight into his wardrobe and this time he could not hold back the screams.

 

“It is in there! Móðir, _Móðir!_ It is here, it is…” His voice suddenly stopped as his eyes alighted on Thor and he struggled to understand what was going on. _Was Thor his warrior? Thor was not here, he was away with Fadir! How could he be here?_ Yet Thor strode towards him and held out a reassuring hand.

“Loki? What is here?”

The little boy blurted out, “The Rock Serpent! It has come for me! It is going to gobble me up and it is waiting in the wardrobe!” Tears began to spill from his eyes in fright and Thor’s heart went out to him. He straightened up. “Then I shall vanquish it! Just as I told you the other day!”

He took his small sword out of his scabbard and strode towards the wardrobe. He would make a show of swinging it about and tell Loki he had killed this imaginary creature and then they could settle down to sleep, he decided. But then he thought he heard a noise from the wardrobe. _What was that?_ He dismissed it quickly; even if there was a creature in there, it was most likely a mouse or something equally harmless. He yanked the door open and stuck his sword into the dark interior, intending to “vanquish” the Serpent of Loki’s nightmare.

“There it is!” Yelled Loki, “Get it!”

 

Startled by Loki’s shouting, Thor swung the sword and something dark did indeed seem to be in there, so he stabbed and, gripping the hilt with both hands, swung it some more, only to find it getting heavier as it was resisted.

 

_What was in there?!_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The warm embraces of the Sleepmaidens faded away as Frigga found herself waking up to the familiar sounds of Loki’s distress and she lay there for a moment, hoping he would drift back off to sleep. However, when he shouted out “Móðir!”, she knew there was no option other than to go to him and comfort him, probably for the rest of the night. She got up and padded over to the door, but frowned when she heard banging about and then – of all the things she least expected – Thor’s voice. As she opened the door and stepped out, Frigga was confronted with the sight of Loki crouching at the head of his bed watching fearfully as Thor hung onto the open door of the wardrobe, reaching in and jerking something around.

 

“What is going on?!” She exclaimed. She strode over to the wardrobe and Thor stood back and held out a warning hand, “Do not go any closer, Móðir…”

“Why? What is it?”

“There is something in there, Móðir. Loki is very upset and I intend to kill it…” Thor’s words petered out as his Mother gently pushed him aside so she could approach the dark interior of the wardrobe. Flicking her fingers, she conjured a bright golden flame and held it up to see what had happened and then she gave Thor a disapproving look before reaching in.

“Móðir!” called Loki with worry, but then she stepped back, holding something. It was dark and it drooped in her fingers, a long shape with what looked like wings which were now in tatters where Thor’s sword had shredded them. Loki’s heart soared.

“You got it Thor! You saved us!”

 

However, Thor was nearer and could see by the light of his mother’s flame that this was no Rock Serpent. He turned his sheepish eyes over to his brother and then looked up at Frigga, “It wound itself about my sword! It felt as if it was fighting back…”

“Well you certainly killed it, Thor.” Frigga, although she was not very happy about what had happened, could not quite keep the mirth from her voice as she brought her light closer to the ‘dead’ creature and Loki finally saw what it was.

“You ruined my travelling cloak!” He exclaimed, but he could not be angry, for Thor had been trying to save him, after all. He got out of bed to come and put his arm round Thor’s waist as they all took a moment to mark the passing of the beautiful garment and Thor’s voice broke the silence in a most despondent way.

 

“It looked like a Rock Serpent to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is another prompt from V-Bird! Although I do have a lot of ideas to write about, sometimes it is a nice exercise to bring someone else's idea to life, especially when they have been kind enough to allow it, so this one is intertwined with the reminder that we should be careful what we talk about around small children.
> 
> I hope this story finds you in good health and high spirits!
> 
> Palefire73  
> x


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